One town, two major college football programs, two outspoken head coaches—and two decidedly different approaches to the game of the year in the Pac-12 South.

“It’s the most important game we’ll play this week,” UCLA’s Jim Mora deadpanned about Saturday’s meeting with USC at the Rose Bowl.

Lane Kiffin, on the other hand, called it a “one-game playoff for the South.”

Kiffin even put a life-or-death spin on the matchup that’ll determine whether the Trojans (7-3, 5-3) or the Bruins (8-2, 5-2) rep the division in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 1.

“None of us wanted to be where our won-loss record is,” said the coach of a three-loss team that was widely picked to win the national title, “but at the same time you want to be alive. A lot of people in the country are not playing for the ability to win (their) conference.”

Mora, the Bruins’ first-year coach, played it much closer to the vest during the weekly Pac-12 coaches teleconference with reporters. Did he play up Los Angeles’ bragging-rights rivalry? Not in the slightest. Did he play up the revenge angle, after his players were beaten 50-0 by USC in 2011? Nope. If anything, he pretended that never happened.

“It’s a completely different team from last year and a completely different coaching staff,” Mora said.

“I think it would be naïve to say that some of the guys who played in that game don’t remember it … (but) I don’t think they’re licking their wounds a year later. I don’t think they dwell on it.”

Did Mora at least acknowledge that Saturday’s game is, you know, pretty darned big?

Nada.

“Look, I want (the Bruins players) to be excited,” he said. “But I want to make sure we do an excellent job of focusing on the process, on our routine that has helped us go 8-2.”

Well, that sure isn’t the kind of talk that’s going to pump up the volume in L.A. for this game.